Press Release: February Public Programs

The City University of New York Graduate Center announces the following public programs to be held during the month of February at the Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street. For further information about the Graduate Center and its public programs, visit www.gc.cuny.edu.

The 2011 Hayek Annual Lecture in Economics, entitled "The Best President You Never Heard Of: Calvin Coolidge," will be delivered by Amity Shlaes. Ms. Shlaes is a senior fellow in economic history at the Council on Foreign Relations. She has been a syndicated columnist for the last decade, with her column carried by Bloomberg. Her most recent book is The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression. Seating is limited, reservations are required. This series of annual lectures is named for Austrian-British economist and political philosopher F. A. Hayek (1899-1993), who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1974. Free, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Reservations can be made at www.gc.cuny.edu/events. For further information, call 212-817-8215.

Music in Midtown begins its Spring 2011 season with a presentation of brilliant and dynamic young chamber players who are enrolled in the Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance program at the CUNY Graduate Center. Various ensembles will perform works by Maurice Ravel, André Caplet, Edvard Grieg, Virgil Thomson, John Cage, Suzan-Lori Parks, and André Previn. Performers include Julia Biber, cello; Chih-Tung Cheng, piano; Chad Cygan, tenor; Emily Eagen, soprano; Barrett Hipes, percussion; Mary Hubbell, soprano; Alice Jones, flute; Danya Katok, soprano; Alina Kiryayeva, piano; and William McNally, piano. Tickets, which go on sale January 21, cost $8 ($6 members) and may be purchased at www.gc.cuny.edu/events or by calling 212-868-4444. To join the Graduate Center's Membership Program and receive an instant 25% discount code visit the Graduate Center Membership page.

City of the World presents a musical performance by Merita Halili with Raif Hyseni and his ensemble. Halili is one of Albania’s top performers of folk music, renowned for her exquisite vocal technique and charismatic delivery, and Hyseni leads the most sought-after Albanian music ensemble in the United States. Preceding the performance, Jane Sugarman, professor of music at the Graduate Center, will give a short lecture on musical activities in the Albanian community of New York City. Tickets, which go on sale January 21, cost $12 ($9 members) and may be purchased at www.gc.cuny.edu/events or by calling 212-868-4444. To join the Graduate Center's Membership Program and receive an instant 25% discount code visit the Graduate Center Membership page.

Wednesday, February 23:Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in 19th-Century New York City(book talk) 6:30 PM, Elabash Recital Hall

John the Gotham Center for NYC History for this launch and discussion of Carla L. Peterson’s new book. Black Gotham is a fascinating look at a little-known segment of American history: African-American elites in New York City in the 19th century, told through Peterson's intriguing account of her quest to reconstruct the lives of her ancestors. Tickets, which go on sale January 21, cost $8 ($6 members) and may be purchased at www.gc.cuny.edu/events or by calling 212-868-4444. To join the Graduate Center's Membership Program and receive an instant 25% discount code visit the Graduate Center Membership page.

Music in Midtown’s second concert of the spring series showcases chamber music performed by the students enrolled in the Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance program. This concert will feature Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major (“Kreutzer” Sonata) and the Janacek String Quartet No. 1. Performers include Caroline Chin, violin; Kara Eubanks, violin; William Frampton, viola; Surry Lee, piano; Alistair MacRae, cello; and Heesun Shin, violin. Tickets, which go on sale January 21, cost $8 ($6 members) and may be purchased at www.gc.cuny.edu/events or by calling 212-868-4444. To join the Graduate Center's Membership Program and receive an instant 25% discount code visit the Graduate Center Membership page.

ITS @ the Graduate Center (Initiative for Theoretical Sciences) presents this evening with Steven Zucker, professor of computer science and biomedical engineering at Yale University. Professor Zucker often uses artwork to illustrate his ideas, connecting theories of how we process images to the artist's talent for manipulating our perceptions. His lecture will invite us to think about what makes drawings beautiful, and about what makes theories beautiful. Free, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Reservations can be made at www.gc.cuny.edu/events (as of January 21). For further information, call 212-817-8215.